Building Trauma-Informed Community Schools

Focused on Systems Change Through Resident Engagement

March, 2016

SYSTEM IMPACT • Community Violence and Cumulative Trauma in City Heights

http://nlyingst.iweb.bsu.edu/edpsy251/coursec

oncepts/251/bronfenbrenner.html

Poverty Child Abuse Domestic Violence Gang and Gun Violence Lack of Access to Physical and Behavioral

Healthcare Traumas Involving Community Agencies

and Systems (e.g., Schools, Child Welfare Services, Law Enforcement, Courts, Immigration)

• Cherokee Point and City Heights residents have experienced a lot of acute, chronic, complex and system-induced traumas

Training provided by San Diego Trauma-Informed Guide Team

• fears and anxieties

• startles and hypervigilance

• sleeping problems (nightmares)

Heightened Arousal

• overreactivity, anger outbursts, and

irritability

• overcontrolling, “grown up”, excessively responsible behaviors

• withdrawal, passivity, and non-responsiveness

• emotional numbing

• memory and concentration problems

• denial and somatic complaints

• other depressive symptoms

Avoidance (Dissociative and Depressive Symptoms)

IMPACT OF TRAUMA ON CHILDREN

Trauma-informed care means

understanding trauma effects on learning

and behaviors

• Attention and Information Processing

• Executive Functions: Planning and Problem-

solving

• Attentiveness to Classroom Tasks

• Emotional Regulation

• Aggression, Impulsivity, and Reactivity

• Spacey or zoned out

• Disrespectful or rude

• Lacking intelligence

• “Out of control”

• Anxious

• Annoying

• Aggressive

Trauma-informed means understanding the neuro-biological impact of trauma

• Trauma induces Fight or Flight response

• Fear and trauma responses activate limbic

system of brain that governs arousal and

emotional reactivity

• Ability to access pre-frontal cortex which

governs abstract thought and problem-solving is

compromised in children experiencing trauma

• Toxic stress inhibits learning

• There are long-term consequences on brain

development

Teachers may describe them as:

Principles of Trauma Informed Care

Recognize the impact of violence and victimization on coping skills

Establish recovery from trauma as a primary goal

Employ an empowerment model to elicit and build on strengths

Partner with the individual/client (relational collaboration)

Design the meeting environment to ensure safety, respect, and acceptance

Highlight strengths and resiliency

Be culturally competent by understanding the individual/client from the

context of his or her life experiences

1. Focus on culture and climate in the school and community.

2. Train and support all staff regarding trauma and learning.

3. Encourage and sustain open and regular communication for all.

4. Develop a strengths based approach in working with students and peers.

5. Ensure discipline policies are both compassionate and effective (Restorative Practices).

6. Weave compassionate strategies into school improvement planning.

7. Provide tiered support for all students based on what they need.

8. Create flexible accommodations for diverse learners.

9. Provide access, voice, and ownership for staff, students and community.

10. Use data to:

◦ Identify vulnerable students, and

◦ Determine outcomes and strategies for continuous quality improvement.

Ten Principles of a Compassionate School

http://www.k12.wa.us/compassionateschools/

From 2011 – 2015, California Endowment’s Building Healthy Communities (BHC) Initiative funded the Trauma-Informed

Community Schools (TICS) project in the Cherokee Point neighborhood of City Heights in San Diego. BHC’s mission was

to make transformative community change by supporting active engagement of adult and youth residents in creating

solutions for their well-being and neighborhood. Our TICS project, emerging out of BHC’s Peace Momentum team meetings

held by Mid-City CAN, focused on prevention and promoting trauma-informed, compassionate and restorative practices

within a community neighborhood school. This involves building on strengths and helping the residents to help their

children, to feel a connection to their family, school and community, and to feel empowered to advocate and promote

change for themselves and their neighborhood. Both Youth Leaders and Parent Leaders in the Cherokee Point

neighborhood have been successful in raising attention and developing community solutions for key problems and issues

they target for change. Here are some achievements of the Cherokee Point Elementary School Parent Leaders since 2011.

Throughout the TICS project, the residents were asked what they wanted and they guided many of the grant activities that occurred

2011 - 2015. There were 9 months of resident community meetings where we all got to know each other and where residents provided

feedback regarding their priorities for their children, families and community. They identified needs that included: how they can help

their children succeed in school, relaxation and health promotion activities for parents, positive discipline and parenting tips, and

coping with domestic and community violence.

Principal’s Chats address residents’ needs

(e.g., community safety, immigration laws)

Computer/English classes

Principal Godwin Higa and CPE teachers promote a positive school climate

School Smarts Program

Principal Higa and teachers at Cherokee Point had already created a warm, welcoming school, promoting trauma-informed,

compassionate practices and using restorative circles in their classrooms. Over the years, Parent Leaders have been encouraged to

increase their engagement and work collaboratively with the school and community partners to help their children and themselves.

They facilitate bi-monthly meetings, plan and present at the monthly Principal’s Chat and community workshops, and help coordinate

and recruit other parent volunteers to help Principal-led community building activities (e.g., food distribution, school clean-up). They

attend weekly computer and English sessions where they help create newsletters and monthly calendars of parent engagement

opportunities, build leadership skills, and form relationships with each other. Cherokee Point serves as a neighborhood learning

center, and the welcoming school focuses on the whole child and provides a setting where sustainable parent and resident leadership

can thrive.

Family-Community nights over 9 months provided opportunities for relationship building as residents voiced their concerns for their community

CPE honored by SDUSD District for High Quality

Indicator 12: Supportive and Safe Environment

Building Sustainable Resident Leadership with a Strengths-based Train-the-Trainer Model

Following best practices for trauma-informed care, parent leaders began educating others about the impact of trauma on their children and

their own well-being. With community partners, they developed and individualized lesson plans that educate about trauma symptoms, self-

care coping strategies, and resources in the community. They have also led workshops on such topics as: Positive Discipline, Depression,

Family Values and Resilience, and Positive Communication.

Guided by feedback from early family community nights, workshops were developed for parents by San Diego State University (SDSU)

faculty and students. For example in 2012, Dr. Colette Ingraham and her graduate students in School Psychology led bilingual parent

workshops on how to help children with homework, ways to encourage positive parent-child communication in the home, and how to help

their children get into college. Dr. Audrey Hokoda from SDSU’s Child and Family Development (CFD) department also led trainings on the

effects of trauma on children and families, depression, and positive parenting practices. Carmen Rodriguez, a graduate student in the CFD

department, helped lead these lessons, and also led a workshop on Common Core State Standards and differences in school systems in the

U.S. versus Mexico.

Parent Leaders co-presenting on restorative practices with SDSU School Psychology faculty and students Parents learning First 5 Pathways to Competence lessons

Parent Leaders attending Jeana Preston’s CA Parent Center’s Parent Leadership Academy Parents lead educational workshops on trauma-informed practices, self-care and resources

Focus on Early Childhood Education

Guided by parent and resident feedback, by research on the effects of trauma on the brain, and by our intention to emphasize prevention, early childhood education has been a key focus. In collaboration with community partners (SDSU CFD department, Family Health Centers of San Diego), parents of pre-K children were given over 30 sessions of a First Five program (Pathways to Competence). The lessons focused on positive discipline in dealing with behavioral and emotional challenges, and on promoting parent-child attachment and social competence in young children.

Over the past 5 years, hundreds of SDSU CFD student interns have worked with Cherokee Point teachers in preschool and kindergarten classes, and with Parent and Youth Leaders. Trained in CA Preschool Learning Foundations and National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) guidelines, SDSU students help in classes, and receive mentoring from Cherokee Point teachers as they help and work with children and families in City Heights. Over the years, SDSU students led Circle of Education music and literacy-based lessons addressing socio-emotional skills (e.g., relaxation, self-care, empathy, cooperation, anger control). A selection of lessons and activities that relate to trauma effects, such as self esteem (e.g., “I am Special”), friendship and cooperation (e.g., “My Magic Words Wand”, “Our Classroom Manners Poster”, anger control (e.g., “The Wild Me”), and self-care (e.g., “The Stretching Paints”, “Aerobic Streamers”) were run by SDSU student interns in the pre-K and Kinder classes.

Last year, Parent Leaders led close to 20 Circle of Education lessons with groups of 10 – 12 other parents at Cherokee Point. Meeting weekly for 1 ½ hours, the Parent Leaders chose several lessons that corresponded to lessons that SDSU students led in their children’s classrooms. After teaching a lesson to other parents, the Parent Leaders gave each parent a copy of the lesson and a bag of accompanying art materials for parents to lead activities at home with their children.

Parent Leaders leading Circle of Education lessons with other parents: Building self-esteem and self-care skills

Parents learning First 5 Pathways to Competence lessons

SDSU students teaching lessons focused on building learning readiness skills

Parent Leaders welcome new pre-K and kinder parents to Cherokee Point

Parent Leaders learn First 5 Pathways to Competence Program and Circle of Education

programs from SDSU faculty and students

Parent Leaders shared their views on equitable school funding Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) Meeting

Presenting at the 19th Annual Character

Matters Conference at University of San Diego

Expanding Resident Empowerment Beyond Cherokee Point

The Parent Leaders have broadened their influence beyond the Cherokee Point Elementary neighborhood as they have been asked to present at community conferences and events. They spoke at the School Bus Express, shared their views on equitable school funding, and are represented in the state-wide LCFF video created by The California Endowment (TCE). Parent Leaders also shared their vision and work with educators from Harvard University and San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD), highlighting how their focus on trauma informed and restorative practices corresponds with SDUSD’s Vision 2020.

North County Regional Education Center

Parent Leaders with

Councilmember Marti Emerald Parent Leaders with Cindy Marten,

Superintendent, SDUSD

Parent Leaders meeting with

Harvard and SDUSD Educators

Learning to post on

ACEs Connection

Restorative Practice and

Restorative Justice Summit

Visit from Echo Parenting, Los

Angeles

•Parent Leaders have continued to present to visitors who want to learn more about TICS as a model of change. Parent Leaders have shared their experiences with professionals from Johns Hopkins University, Echo Parenting in Los Angeles, and Rady’s Children’s Hospital, among others. Parent Leaders have also traveled around the County presenting about trauma-informed and restorative practices and parent leadership at such venues at the National Conflict Resolution Center, Restorative Community Conferences, and the North County Regional Education Center. This year they are learning how to post their work on ACEs Connection to inspire others to value trauma-informed, compassionate, and restorative practices.

Central Elementary, City Heights

http://www.acesconnection.com/g/aces-in-children-and-youth2/clip/tics-youth-

leadership-interviews

Wilson Middle School

Restorative Justice Social Leadership Club

Middle school youth leaders meet every Thursday after school.

Youth Voice presenting before the City of San Diego’s Youth

Commission sharing Impact on Risk and Protective Factors

for Healthy Youth on January 18, 2012

Youth, ages 11 to 20, meet on

Thursday’s in the Mid-City Police

Division and partner directly with the

Juvenile Services Team.

Annual Mid-City Community Toy Drive

Partnering with SDSU’s Child and Family Development Department:

These Hands Don’t Hurt Violence Awareness Fair

Youth Voice Underage Drinking YouTube

Channel 10 Special Edition

May 25, 2012

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OulT-SvCcnw&feature=youtu.be

Youth Voice leaders co-presenting at International Conference

We Can’t Wait: Early Childhood Development

September 17, 2015

Youth Empowerment

Meet every Sunday at Teralta Park with children, youth and families

Contact Information:

Principal Godwin Higa

Cherokee Point Elementary School

ghiga@sandi.net

Dr. Audrey Hokoda

San Diego State University

ahokoda@sdsu.edu

Dana Brown

ACEs Connection

dbrown@acesconnection.com